Nannies are having to work “longer for less” to keep their jobs following the collapse in City bonuses, a new survey reveals today.

Weekly wages for live-in nannies in outer London and the home counties fell by almost five per cent last year to an average of £336, equivalent to an annual salary of £21.963. In central London they dropped two per cent to £389 or £26,017 annually.

Parents are also demanding longer hours with 14 per cent of full-time nannies now working at least 60 hours a week compared with just two per cent in 2010, according to the research from payroll firm Nannytax. More than half work at least 50 hours weekly.

The falls reverse a long trend of rising pay through the boom years when demand for experienced childcare soared. Pay continued to rise even after the 2008 banking crisis and through the start of the recession.

However, the current City bonus season is predicted to be the thinnest in more than a decade with total payments of £1.6 billion compared with £11.6 billion five years ago.

Helen Harvey, payroll services director at Nannytax, said: “Pay rises among the parents hiring nannies have probably been smaller, if there have been any, and bonuses more rare than in prior years. This obviously has an impact on their disposable income and whether they can afford to pass on a pay rise for their nanny.

“The cost of living has also gone up substantially, so most families are tightening their belts, with less cash available for childcare.” The squeeze appears to be hitting hardest the live-in nannies typically employed by wealthy families in large central London homes where one or both parents work in the City. Pay for live-out nannies has been much more steady and rose slightly last year. Nanny agencies said demand might improve this year as some mothers go back to work because their partners had lost their jobs or seen huge cuts in pay and bonuses.

‘We’re asked to do much more’

Career nanny Helen Prideaux says she has been “shocked” by the number of her friends who struggled to find work last year.

“There just are not the jobs around that there used to be,” she said.

“Some of my friends were out of work for several months whereas before they would have been snapped up.”

Ms Prideaux, 32, who looks after a baby in Holland Park, added: “The American families have all gone home and now the Russians have moved in. They tend to ask for a lot more, they don’t have the same ideal of a nanny.